Lap winder



May 11, 1954 R. s. CURLEY 2,678,172

LAP WINDER Filed April 15, 195o Is sheets-sheet 1 @I IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIllllIIIIIII i A* "Q I. l 'N l. .I 1 L Mmm immuun m. dos

I :Il l m |-L l l I I I l l Iazven'ow: Raben@ s. cuazeg, y 4mm/m MJL! u'oa'faaey R. S. CURLEY May 1l, 1954 LAP WINDER Filed April 13, i950 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 R. s. CURLEY LAP WINDER May 1 l, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 13, 1950 Iazvioa B02122113 .Gaaf A y m Patented May 11, 1954 LAP WINDER Robert S. Curley, Biddeford, Maine, asslgn'or vto 'Saco-Lowell Shops, Boston, Mass., a corporation of Maine ApplicatonAprl 13, 1950,`Seral No. 155,590

This invention relates to improvements inthat class of machines used in the textile industry to take a lightly compressed lap made up of `a sheet of textile fibers vor a number of slivers, compress it, and wind it up in `a compressed cylindrical package.

Such machines have an important function in the making of a good lap, as the manner in which the lap is compressed land wound up in readiness for use in subsequent operations has a great leffect on the uniformity of the ultimate product, e. g. evenness of a sliver resulting from subsequent operations for which the lap provides the starting material. The pressure used tocompress the lap as it is wound up should be substantially constant along the length of the wound material in order to give an even lap of constant density, one in which the textileiibers are distributed evenly along the length of the lap, and in which all the iibers are compressed an equal amount. If the pressure employed is too little, the textile Iibers on the surface of the lap will have a tendency to cling to those on the adjacent layer in the lap package, thus trans- 4 claims. (o1. 24a-554) ferring fibers from one layer to another, i. e. 1

delaminate and cause variations in the distribution of fibers along the length of the lap. If the pressure is too great, the iiber's will become so matted that a small amount of felting takes place, increasing the work of machinery employed in subsequent operations and frequently causing the detachment oi nbers in bunches in such machinery, causing neps which destroy the uniformity of the sliver.

AFurthermcre, a lap must have a uniform thick;-

ness at least widthwise of the lap, as otherwise the lap will wind `up into a compressed package of conical shape, which cannot readily be used in subsequent operations sincel one side of such a conical lap will be somewhat thicker than the other.

In the machines long used to compress and wind up a lap, the pressure on the lap has `been maintained by the friction of a brake band pressed by a lever against the surface of a pulley which in turn is rotated, through suitable gearing, by the lap racks as they rise vertically with the lap arbor due to the increasing size of the lap package as the lap is wound `up by a pair of underlying driven rollers. Under these conditions, the required pressure on the lap cannot be firmly applied until a sufficient length of the lap is wrapped around the lap arbor toA start the lap racks rising. Consequently, at the start of 'the winding operation, theiricticn pulley is held in a stationary position, and during such tim-e that the lap package is building up to produce sufficient force to start the pulley revolving, the coefficient of friction is that of static friction.

As soon as the lap package has built up sufficiently to start the pulley revolving, the coef*- ficient of friction becomes that of kinetic friction, which is very much smaller than the coeiiicient of static friction, and the pressure `on the lap being woundup abruptly decreases. Thus, when the pulley starts to rotate, the amount of force necessary to transfer from static friction to kinetic friction is so great that the pulley goes by and stops its forward motion, and the pressure on the lap being wound up decreases.

Because of this, the racks have a tendency to rise at an uneven rate, particularly during the initial stages of compressing and winding a lap, thus causing the pressure on the lap to vary and, in

;'. tical mechanism is providedL which supplies a substantially constant pressure to the lap at the outset, as soon as 'it has begun to Wind up onthe lap arbor, reducing the lengthwise variations in the rst few yards as well as those of the entire lap and producing 'a far more even and better lap. The invention, for the first time in the art, provides in a compressed cylindrical package a lap that is of uniform thickness, both Wdthwise and lengthwise thereof.

A feature of my invention is that by its use the entire lap may be used in subsequent operations, sincc the variations in Weight in the rst few yards of a lap produced by the mechanism of my invention are no greater than the variations in weight in the remainder of the lap. Thus it is unnecessary to remove a length of the lap and return it to theopener for reworking.

A further feature of my `invention is the quick release of pressure provided which prevents damage to the outer layer of the lap package when it is being removed from the lap winding machine. Still further features of my invention are its simplicity and ease ci installation on existing lap winding machines,

For the purpose of further explaining my invention, reference is made to the following drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of the delivery end of a lap winding machine embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side view, partly broken away, of a portion of the machine of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a 'cross-sectional side view of the machine of Fig. 1 taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, the lap winding machine embodying my invention includes a frame I on which are rotatably mounted a pair of rollers I2 and I4 in closely adjacent parallel positions. The rollers I2 and Ili are provided with gears i3 and I5 respectively by which they are positively driven by any suitable driving means (not shown) through a pulley 2li mounted on shaft l0 driving gears I3 and I5 through gears 22, 24 and 26. l

A lap It of textile bers supplied by conventional opening and picking machines, not shown, or made up of a number of slivers passes over the rear roller I4 and is compressed and wound up into a compressed cylindrical package il on a lap arbor I overlying said rollers I2 and I, and frictionally rotated thereby. The lap arbor is is rotatably mounted in semi-circular bearings 23 for movement in a vertical plane substantially perpendicular to the plane of the axes of rollers I2 and ill and midway between said axes. EachV lap arbor bearing 28 is mounted for vein tical movement on a rack 3S which rides in a substantially vertical track S2 on frame id. In order to maintain the arbor bearings 2&3 at equal distances from the axes of rollers l2 and iii as the lap arbor I8 rises due to the increasing size of the lap package Il, a positive mechanical connection is provided between the arbor bearings 28, comprising pinions 3d mounted on a commonrshaft 35 engaging racks 3i). Thus any Vertical movement of one bearing 28 will be transmitted to the other bearing 28', ensuring equal movement of said bearings and at all times maintaining the axis of arbor I8 parallel with the axes of rollers I2 and I4 so that the lap IES will be compressed to a constant thickness widthwise of said lap and ensure the formation of the necessary cylindrical package Il rather than a somewhat conical one which is undesirable in subsequentyoperations.

In accordance with'my invention, the pressure between the lap arbor It? and the rollers I2 and It is provided by a reversible fluid motor, preferably a compressed air motor, generally designated at lll, mounted at the bottom of frame i8, the shaft 64 of said motor including a rack es engaging a pinion 68 on shaft 36.' The uidA motor lib has a casing 42 and a piston iii forming rear chamber 46 and forward chamber il. Lines Siland 52 are provided to connect said chambers to a four-way valve 54 which is supplied with fluid at suitable pressure by line 62, a reducing valve Si) and a line 53 between said reducing valve and said four-way valve. The four-way valve is normally arranged to connect line 52 and the forward chamber 48 of uid pressure motor 4t tothe iluid under pressure in line 58, as hereinafter more fully explained.

The four-way valve 54 is arranged to be automatically operated by av knock-oir mechanism to raiseV the lap arbor bearings 28 when the lap package Il has reached a desired size sothat the lap package may be removed from the machine.l Such knock-01T mechanismis further 4 arranged to disconnect from a source of power the usual calender rolls (not shown) provided in such a machine to compress the lap I6 prior to its being compressed and wound up by rollers I2 and I4 on lap arbor I8 in order to stop the calender rolls to break the lap I6 and wind the broken end on lap package Il. Referring to Figs. 1 and 3, the shaft l0, on which pulley 20 is mounted, is pivotally mounted on the frame I in a self-aligning bearing 1I. The opposite end of said shaft 7U is rotatably mounted on a lever l2, said lever I2 being pivoted on a stud 'i3 on frame Iil. A gear I4 mounted on shaft 'i adjacent said lever 'I2 is provided to engage a gear i6 for driving the usual calender rolls (not shown), said gear l5 being rotatably mounted in bearing 'I'I on frame I0. The gear 'I8 concentric with and driven by gear 'I6 drives a gear 80, said gear 8e being mounted for swinging movement by means,` of a link 82 pivotally mounted by stud 83 on frame I0. Gears 'I8 and 8i] are provided with co-acting huntingteeth 84 and et so that when hunting-tooth 84 on gear lil contacts tooth 86 on gear 86, said gear 8s will be swung away from gear i8 to move arm 38 rigidly mounted on and extending downwardly from link 82. `Said. arm 88 is normally retained in engagement with a latch St on lever l2 so that when said arm 38 is moved by the action oi' hunting-teethl and $6, said lever I2 will be released and will drop downwardly, thus disconnecting gears 'Iii and 15 to disengage the calender rolls from the source of power.

Lever l2 is further provided with a link 92 to operate the four-way valve 5d through a foot lever 94 pivoted on frame I0 and a Z-bar 96 arranged to operate treadle 5G of four-way valve sil to connect rear chamber [I6 ci motor 4Q to nuid under pressure in line 58 to positively elevate racks 3Q and bearings 23'.

In operation, if it is desired to wind up the lap i@ into a compressed cylindrical package Il on arbor I8, assuming the lever l2 is in its lowered position, the Z-bar 96 depresses the treadle 55 causing the valve 513 to connect rear chamber i6 of air-motor d to a source of fluid pressure in line 58 to move the racks 3i) and bearings 28 to the upper limit of their travel. To start a new lap package Il', the foot lever 9115 is pressed down to raise the lever l2 and engage gear 14' with gear 7E, thus starting the calender rolls. At the same time arm 38 will engage latch 9) and be retained thereunder. The lap I is then placed over rollers i2 and i4, the arbor I8 placed over the lap I6, and the lap It transferred around the arbor I8 and tucked into the nip between arbor I8 and roller i4 in the usual manner. The foot treadle 56 is then operated to connect forward chamber 8 of motor 52 to a source of fluid pressure in line 53 causing rack Sii on uid motor shaft t4 to rotate pinion $8 on Y their associated racks 36 upward, but such movement will be resisted by the constant pressure of the fluid under pressure in forward chamber 48 of air-imotor dii, thus urging the arbor i8 towardthe rollers I2 and Ill to compress the lap I6, and applying a constant pressure at all times to the lap I6 as it is wound up into a cylindrical package Il.

After the lap package Il' has reached t1 e i esired size, as determined by the relation of gears 'i8 and 80, hunting-tooth Ell on gear I8 will engage hunting-tooth 36 on gear 80, moving gear fill and its associated arm 83 to disengage said arm from latch 90 and allow lever l2 to drop downwardly to disengage calender driving gear 'i5 from gear l. At the same time lever '52 will operate four-way valve 54 through linlr` Sii, foot lever 94 and Z-bar 95 to connect rear chamber d'5 of motor 40 to a source of fiuid pressure in line 53. Motor d0 will then move rack: to rotate pinion 68 and move racks 39 and bearings 28 up` Ward to release the ends of arbor 1S. The lap package l? wound on arbor I8 may then be removed from the machine.

Various changes and modifications of my preferred apparatus herein shown and described may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention, for instance, a iiuid motor could be arranged to act directly on eitherT the lap arbor bearings or the lap racks. These and such other changes are contemplated as may come within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a machine for winding on a rotatahie arbor a lap of textile fibers into a compressed roll, a frame, a pair of adjacent parallei rollers mounted on said frame for frictionaily rotating a lap on the arbor, arbor retaining bearings on each side of said frame mounted for vertical movement, racks affixed to said bearings respectively and movable vertically therewith, a rack driving shaft rotatably mounted on frame, pinions xed to said shaft for rotation therewith engaging said racks, and an air motor connected to rotate said pinions through said shaft to move said racks and said bearings downwardly and to resist rotation of said shaft to thus resist rotation of said pinions and upward movement of said racks, bearings and the arbor to compress the lap.

2. In a machine for winding on a rotatable arbor a lap of textile fibers into a compressed roll, a frame, a pair of adjacent parallel rollers mounted on said frame for frictionally rotating a lap on the arbor, arbor retaining bearings on each side of said frame mounted for vertical movement, racks afixed to said bearings respectively and movable vertically therewith, a rack driving shaft rotatably mounted on said frame, pinions fixed to said shaft for rotation there with engaging said racks, an air motor having a piston, a rack on said piston, and a piston rack engaging pinion mounted in rotatively fixed position on said shaft whereby said motor rotates said shaft and pinions fixed thereto to move said first-mentioned racks and said bearings downwardly and resists rotation of said shaft to thus resist rotation of said pinions fixed thereto and upward movment of said rst-mentioned racks, bearings and the arbor to compress the lap.

3. In a machine for winding on a rotatable arbor a lap of textile fibers into a compressed roll, a frame, a pair of adjacent parallel rollers mounted on said frame for frictionally rotating a lap on the arbor, arbor retaining bearings on each side of said frame mounted for vertical movement, racks affixed to said bearings respectively and movable vertically therewith, a rack: driving shaft rotatably mounted on frame, pinions xed to said shaft for rotation therewith engaging said racks, a reversible air motor with a piston having a rack, and a piston rack engaging pinion mounted in rotatively fixed position on said shaft whereby said motor in one direction rotates said shaft and pinions Xed thereto to move said nist-mentioned racks and said bearings downwardly and resists rotation of said shaft to thus resist rotation of said pinions fixed thereto and upward movement of said first-mentioned racks, bearings and the arbor to Compress the lap and in the other direction moves said first-mentioned racks and said bearings upward to relieve the pressure on said lap and elen 'vate said bearings.

4. A machine as claimed in claim 3 having a knock-Gif mechaism arranged and connected to actuate said air motor positively to elevate said first-mentioned racks and bearings.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 662,889 Swenson et al Nov.. 27, 1990 1,213,665 McGeouch Jan. 23, 1917 1,500,797 Cadden July 8, 19:24 2,031,066 Ramsdell Feb. 18, 1936 2,109,936 Tice Mar. l, 1938 2,418,997 Thomas et al Apr.. 15, 1947 

